Interesting things seen while hunting....

Rojoe67 · January 12, 2005, 08:50 AM

I thought I would share a few and other folks could add on....

I got to witness 2 bucks fighting and the winner pranced over to a doe and had his way with her... making sure next year would see continued deer hunting.... and might I say the two bucks (an 8 point and what I think a 6) were fighting for a good two or three minutes.... both fell to the ground at one point. I would guess I was about 80-90 yards from the action. I was in the edge of the woods and they were in a corn stubble field. Very cool to witness in person.

The other interesting hunt that comes to mind was a bowhunt in the eastern U.P. of Michigan. I had sat on a tree stand 12' off the ground on the edge of a hay field. I heard what I thought was a deer sneaking in behind me and slowly circle to my left. It tuned out to be a Linx. It hunted and moved slowly and never noticed me at all. He came within 18 yards of me at one point. I watched the big cat for 5-6 minutes before he slowly melted back into the woods behind me. That was one of the most interesting hunts that I didn't see a whitetail deer on.

BobbyWins · January 12, 2005, 01:38 PM

On a South Texas deer hunt several years ago,I had killed a 6 1/2' rattlesnake
right next to my blind.I had tossed it to the side until I finished that hunt and then I was gonna clean it and have it for supper later.
Well,seems this big Indigo had other ideas.(For those of you who don't know,The Indigo(snake) was transplanted years ago in South Texas to help control the rattlesnake population since the rattler is their main diet.)

For the next half hour or so,I got to watch this 8'-9' indigo

devour my lunch

an inch or so at a time,head first.Amazing I tell ya,simply amazing.

No tellin' how many deer(and no tellin' what else) I missed seein' that evening because my eyes were glued to this amazing sight.Not only that,but I also had to think of somthin' else to eat.

BW

Steve499 · January 13, 2005, 11:09 AM

Last rifle season I saw a six point buck jump a fence and walk out into my shooting lane. I dropped him with a neck shot. When I got over to where he lay, I saw he had four white hooves with white stockings reaching about six inches up his legs. His dewclaws were white too. This was a little unusual and brought some notice at the check station but the real surprise came when I was processing him for the freezer. The right front leg had a six inch piece of aluminum arrow imbedded in the bone. It was covered with gristle and wasn't infected. The bone had grown around and through the openings in the blades of the arrowhead which immobilized the arrow. I cleaned the bone and it is one of my favorite hunting trophies. I can't get over the fact that this deer was jumping fences and walking with no limp! Just look at this picture.

PSE · January 13, 2005, 05:00 PM

i shot a bearded hen. 9" full and she had eggs in her.

Rojoe67 · January 13, 2005, 05:32 PM

I had a friend that shot a buck that was missing some of his man type plumbing items yet the buck was normal size and meat was of quality too...

Jseime · January 13, 2005, 07:05 PM

coming over a hill on our way to a spot we wanted to push out my cousins and i witnessed a pair oh moster white tails with no does. they werent fighting they just came running out of the bush of course i shot the first one i saw which turned out to be a nice 5X5 while the other one was a huuuuuge 6X6 of course i had already shot mine so i couldnt take him and my cousin handed his dad an empty rifle with which to take the deer. I hear the "CLICK" of the firing pin every night in my nightmares

FirstFreedom · January 21, 2005, 06:17 PM

Bobbywins, THAT would have been a hell of a viewing...amazing.

impact · January 21, 2005, 10:59 PM

I was hunting in a place called Lovells Michigan. I saw two cool things. One was a black Fisher. I was hunting is some jack pines and saw this black thing jumping from tree to tree close to the ground. It was much bigger than a squirrel. It got pretty close to see that it was not a squirrel. That was cool!

About 4 miles from that place I found some big dog tracks. So I thought! I took some pics and looked then up and they where wolf tracks. The tracks were big!!! The size of two D cell battries end to end. My buddies dad called me a year later and said he saw a wolf trot through this property. Cool! He lives out in nowhere land. He said that year the DNR said there are no wolfes in Michigan. He said he knew better

MeekAndMild · January 21, 2005, 11:52 PM

This year hunting for deer I had the opportunity to see a flock of five Eastern bluebirds. I have also seen indigo bunting, many species of song sparrows, orioles, chickadees, red tailed hawks, a great horned owl, several barn owls, screech owls, 2 breeds of turkeys, grackle, blackbirds, cowbirds, nuthatches and lots more. (Recently in my neighborhood the feral cat population has taken a nosedive, thanks to the inventors of the .17 HMR magnum.)

mill hunky · January 22, 2005, 11:43 AM

saw a squirrel on a tree, 2 redtail hawks few in and landed on seperate trees. the squirrel wanted to go on the ground but i guess he knew better. one of the hawks flew down and put one of his opened wings on the tree and spiraled down the tree and the squirrel went to the ground, both birds missed the squirrel. during deer season usually walk in on a creek bed but the creek was high. sat on the edge of the creek, was cold, took my camo mask off and was eating , i heard a lot of noise below me and leaned over the creek. there were two river otter`s looking up at me. they were huge. they just looked at for for about 30 seconds , i said good morning and water was flying everywhere.

Rojoe67 · January 22, 2005, 06:43 PM

The good Ole DNR has broke down and had to owe up to wolves down state.... It darn near took and act of congress but the fact a trapper had caught one and shot it - thinking it was a coyote. So just like the Wolverine - the wolf is offical down state now too. It's funny cause for years both residents and Coast Guard Flyers alike have seen wolves and reported them to a group in Lansing that spend more time telling us we not trained to know what we see. OK?

That is cool......... I got a chance twice now to see fresh tracks in the UP land I hunt. I measured 2 1/2" x 4" and as you know these aren't puppy tracks.... I was able to photograph them too....

thanks for your story.......

38splfan · January 22, 2005, 08:30 PM

I was once "attacked" by a possum while deer hunting in South Carolina.

I was 14 at the time and using my dad's SKS. We were on the corners of an abandoned farm shed that was on the edge of a couple month old cut soybean feild.
Well, I hear this hissing in the bushes behind me. I turn to see, about ten feet back, a possum. ( In my infinite childish wisdom, I first thought it was a Badger

) I turn around and continue to hunt.
I few minutes later, I hear the hissing again, a little closer. The possum is now two-three feet away and standing on it's hind legs, hissing loudly.
I removed myself from the 5-gallon bucket seat, and shot it threee times with the SKS. Possum was split very nearly in half.

This is very childish, and had I known then what I do now, it would not have happened the same.
It is good for a laugh though

pwp · January 22, 2005, 09:05 PM

Sounds like you know how to enjoy the outdoors...My Father was that kind of person, able to be amazed at something everytime he went out in the woods. And he had the talent to describe everything he witnessed to us kids with excitement. Guess some of it rubbed off...all five of us feed the birds year round and keep bluebird houses in the yards. I know this reply isn't shooting related but I just felt like saying "thanks" for the post.

keens · January 23, 2005, 03:15 PM

I knew the sounds coming from the woods near my stand had to be a couple of mountain lions killing each other...I have never been so scared hunting in all my life

...it was getting dark and I squeezed my gun for comfort...then all of a sudden I could see two racoons seemingly killing each other...what a relief...my hunting buddies laughed at me, but I had never heard coons act that way before...cool scenne though...one finally ran off...guess one of them was protecting something...

macavada · January 23, 2005, 06:57 PM

I saw a Jaguarundi once near Mathis, TX. Very rare.

Rojoe67 · January 23, 2005, 07:09 PM

3 years ago as I ended a bear hunt I walked back to my ATV. I had parked it about 300 yards from my bear blind. I had a red LED 3 light headlamp. I like to use it because it shows anyone around I'm human not animal and it lights up enough you can see what your doing. On the walk back to the quad I noticed a racket in a small 12-14 foot tall Poplar (Aspen) tree. I turned my head to put light up the tree. It was a family (8) of coons and those eyes were looking like lights on a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I must have darn near walked on them and they took for the tree for protection. I started laughing at this sight......about that time the main limb broke and 4 of them came down hard.... I just about broke in half with laughter.......a real Kodak moment..... It was the highlight of a very calm day hunting....

calvin62 · January 23, 2005, 10:05 PM

During gun season 2001 in east central wisconsin I watched a black mountain lion sized cat jump a fence row 80 yds from me then sit down and eat the rabbit he was carrying. he was there about 15 minutes then snuck through the brush on the tree row and disapeared up the hill. DNR claims we have no mountain lions in the state much less a black panther. I didnt tell many people about it and the ones I did tell acted like I was nuts. so I dont repeat the story in public anymore but I do carry a camera now.

impact · January 24, 2005, 12:01 AM

yes calvin62 you need to take a camera! many people here in texas say they see black panthers. But the Texas parks and wildlife people say there is no such thing in Texas! The Texas parks and wildlife challenged the people of Texas to produce a dead black cat or photo. That was five years ago. Still no pic or dead cat?

Rojoe67 · January 24, 2005, 04:46 PM

This turned out to be a real interesting idea....... thanks everyone

MeekAndMild · January 24, 2005, 07:46 PM

pwp thanks for the feedback. The outdoors is great.

Ohio Annie · January 25, 2005, 11:48 AM

I read somewhere that animals near the edge of their normal range are more likely to have black ones in the population. Don't remember why. So if there are mountain lions in a place near the edge of their range there must be black ones there too if the article was applicable to panthers.

Ohio Annie · January 25, 2005, 11:53 AM

I bought a tree stand and climbing stick last year, mainly to try to get over my fear of heights. I was sitting in the stand and heard a dreadful buzz. Startled, I thought a bee swarm was coming. I looked to my left and a humming bird was hovering by my head about 18 inches away. He buzzed all around me, calling "pik pik . " He landed on a limb about a yard away from me and kept angrily calling "pik pik . "He looked like that grumpy bluebird picture.

He flew away and I wished I had gotten out my camera. About 5 minutes later he was back and buzzed me again for a couple of minutes. I thought he went to the Bird Tavern and told his friends, "You'll never guess what I found sitting in a tree." His friends probably told him he'd had too much to drink and he just came back to check and see if it was really true.

scbair · January 25, 2005, 01:05 PM

Nothing too exciting; I have frequently observed grey fox stalking birds & squirrels, while I was perched in a deer stand. I also saw one pursuing a rabbit. Good reminders I wasn't the only hunter in the area.

Arizona Fusilier · January 25, 2005, 11:05 PM

Well he wasn't black, but it sure was a mountain lion I ran into about 10 years ago deer hunting down on the border.

I was wearing all tan, against a backdrop of dried sage grass and desert, he probably couldn't tell what I was.

I actually raised my binoculars to me eyes, trying to convince him I was a tool-user, and thus he should be afraid.

He wasn't

I pointed my rifle between his eyes; yes I know, this was all stupid, but I thought if I could just convince him I was Homo Sapiens, the classic "cowardly" lion would shy awy from human contact. He didn't.

We had a stand off for about five minutes. When I started to whisper for my hunting buddy who was supposed to be right behind me (he wasn't

), he started to freak at the sound of the human voice.

It was at that time, between the vegetation and the scant 30 feet between us, that I realized I could only get one shot off if I had to before he was on me.

I exited stage left, he went stage right, and that was the last kitty I saw.

Now every year, I get a lion tag (there over the counter in Arizona, about 11 bucks or so) "just in case". I also always carry a hunting legal revolver as a backup, in case I need quicker, close range shots.

That's probably my best hunting story; I have more of them then I do filled game tags, though

impact · January 27, 2005, 09:15 PM

Ohio Annie. The Texas Parks and Wildlife did a DNA study of the mountain Lion and they said! that the mountain lion does not have the DNA to make a black lion. I think the DNA missing made a pigment called melanin which make animals black. There is a (I think) gray squirrel that is also black because of melanin. Most people just call them black squirrels

January 12, 2005, 08:50 AM	#1
Rojoe67 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2005 Location: Wolverine State Posts: 767	Interesting things seen while hunting.... I thought I would share a few and other folks could add on.... I got to witness 2 bucks fighting and the winner pranced over to a doe and had his way with her... making sure next year would see continued deer hunting.... and might I say the two bucks (an 8 point and what I think a 6) were fighting for a good two or three minutes.... both fell to the ground at one point. I would guess I was about 80-90 yards from the action. I was in the edge of the woods and they were in a corn stubble field. Very cool to witness in person. The other interesting hunt that comes to mind was a bowhunt in the eastern U.P. of Michigan. I had sat on a tree stand 12' off the ground on the edge of a hay field. I heard what I thought was a deer sneaking in behind me and slowly circle to my left. It tuned out to be a Linx. It hunted and moved slowly and never noticed me at all. He came within 18 yards of me at one point. I watched the big cat for 5-6 minutes before he slowly melted back into the woods behind me. That was one of the most interesting hunts that I didn't see a whitetail deer on.

January 13, 2005, 11:09 AM	#3
Steve499 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Central Missouri Posts: 533	Last rifle season I saw a six point buck jump a fence and walk out into my shooting lane. I dropped him with a neck shot. When I got over to where he lay, I saw he had four white hooves with white stockings reaching about six inches up his legs. His dewclaws were white too. This was a little unusual and brought some notice at the check station but the real surprise came when I was processing him for the freezer. The right front leg had a six inch piece of aluminum arrow imbedded in the bone. It was covered with gristle and wasn't infected. The bone had grown around and through the openings in the blades of the arrowhead which immobilized the arrow. I cleaned the bone and it is one of my favorite hunting trophies. I can't get over the fact that this deer was jumping fences and walking with no limp! Just look at this picture. Last edited by Steve499; November 2, 2005 at 10:27 AM.

January 13, 2005, 05:32 PM	#5
Rojoe67 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2005 Location: Wolverine State Posts: 767	interesting....keep em coming I had a friend that shot a buck that was missing some of his man type plumbing items yet the buck was normal size and meat was of quality too...

January 13, 2005, 07:05 PM	#6
Jseime Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1,775	2 bucks coming over a hill on our way to a spot we wanted to push out my cousins and i witnessed a pair oh moster white tails with no does. they werent fighting they just came running out of the bush of course i shot the first one i saw which turned out to be a nice 5X5 while the other one was a huuuuuge 6X6 of course i had already shot mine so i couldnt take him and my cousin handed his dad an empty rifle with which to take the deer. I hear the "CLICK" of the firing pin every night in my nightmares

January 21, 2005, 11:52 PM	#9
MeekAndMild Senior Member Join Date: August 2, 2001 Posts: 4,988	This year hunting for deer I had the opportunity to see a flock of five Eastern bluebirds. I have also seen indigo bunting, many species of song sparrows, orioles, chickadees, red tailed hawks, a great horned owl, several barn owls, screech owls, 2 breeds of turkeys, grackle, blackbirds, cowbirds, nuthatches and lots more. (Recently in my neighborhood the feral cat population has taken a nosedive, thanks to the inventors of the .17 HMR magnum.) __________________ In a few years when the dust finally clears and people start counting their change there is a pretty good chance that President Obama may become known as The Great Absquatulator. You heard it first here on TFL.

January 12, 2005, 01:38 PM	#2
BobbyWins Member Join Date: June 25, 2004 Location: Central Texas Posts: 25	On a South Texas deer hunt several years ago,I had killed a 6 1/2' rattlesnake right next to my blind.I had tossed it to the side until I finished that hunt and then I was gonna clean it and have it for supper later. Well,seems this big Indigo had other ideas.(For those of you who don't know,The Indigo(snake) was transplanted years ago in South Texas to help control the rattlesnake population since the rattler is their main diet.) For the next half hour or so,I got to watch this 8'-9' indigo devour my lunch an inch or so at a time,head first.Amazing I tell ya,simply amazing. No tellin' how many deer(and no tellin' what else) I missed seein' that evening because my eyes were glued to this amazing sight.Not only that,but I also had to think of somthin' else to eat. BW

January 13, 2005, 05:00 PM	#4
PSE Junior member Join Date: July 23, 2004 Location: stupids womb, SC Posts: 475	i shot a bearded hen. 9" full and she had eggs in her.

January 21, 2005, 06:17 PM	#7
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Bobbywins, THAT would have been a hell of a viewing...amazing.

January 21, 2005, 10:59 PM	#8
impact Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2005 Location: the great state of Texas Posts: 854	I was hunting in a place called Lovells Michigan. I saw two cool things. One was a black Fisher. I was hunting is some jack pines and saw this black thing jumping from tree to tree close to the ground. It was much bigger than a squirrel. It got pretty close to see that it was not a squirrel. That was cool! About 4 miles from that place I found some big dog tracks. So I thought! I took some pics and looked then up and they where wolf tracks. The tracks were big!!! The size of two D cell battries end to end. My buddies dad called me a year later and said he saw a wolf trot through this property. Cool! He lives out in nowhere land. He said that year the DNR said there are no wolfes in Michigan. He said he knew better

January 22, 2005, 11:43 AM	#10
mill hunky Member Join Date: December 8, 2004 Posts: 81	saw a squirrel on a tree, 2 redtail hawks few in and landed on seperate trees. the squirrel wanted to go on the ground but i guess he knew better. one of the hawks flew down and put one of his opened wings on the tree and spiraled down the tree and the squirrel went to the ground, both birds missed the squirrel. during deer season usually walk in on a creek bed but the creek was high. sat on the edge of the creek, was cold, took my camo mask off and was eating , i heard a lot of noise below me and leaned over the creek. there were two river otter`s looking up at me. they were huge. they just looked at for for about 30 seconds , i said good morning and water was flying everywhere.

January 22, 2005, 06:43 PM	#11
Rojoe67 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2005 Location: Wolverine State Posts: 767	Hey impact..... The good Ole DNR has broke down and had to owe up to wolves down state.... It darn near took and act of congress but the fact a trapper had caught one and shot it - thinking it was a coyote. So just like the Wolverine - the wolf is offical down state now too. It's funny cause for years both residents and Coast Guard Flyers alike have seen wolves and reported them to a group in Lansing that spend more time telling us we not trained to know what we see. OK? That is cool......... I got a chance twice now to see fresh tracks in the UP land I hunt. I measured 2 1/2" x 4" and as you know these aren't puppy tracks.... I was able to photograph them too.... thanks for your story.......

January 22, 2005, 08:30 PM	#12
38splfan Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2004 Location: Ft. Lewis/Tacoma, WA. Posts: 1,034	Possum! I was once "attacked" by a possum while deer hunting in South Carolina. I was 14 at the time and using my dad's SKS. We were on the corners of an abandoned farm shed that was on the edge of a couple month old cut soybean feild. Well, I hear this hissing in the bushes behind me. I turn to see, about ten feet back, a possum. ( In my infinite childish wisdom, I first thought it was a Badger ) I turn around and continue to hunt. I few minutes later, I hear the hissing again, a little closer. The possum is now two-three feet away and standing on it's hind legs, hissing loudly. I removed myself from the 5-gallon bucket seat, and shot it threee times with the SKS. Possum was split very nearly in half. This is very childish, and had I known then what I do now, it would not have happened the same. It is good for a laugh though __________________ "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to others and I expect the same from them." - John Wayne

January 22, 2005, 09:05 PM	#13
pwp Member Join Date: January 9, 2005 Posts: 26	To Meek&mild Sounds like you know how to enjoy the outdoors...My Father was that kind of person, able to be amazed at something everytime he went out in the woods. And he had the talent to describe everything he witnessed to us kids with excitement. Guess some of it rubbed off...all five of us feed the birds year round and keep bluebird houses in the yards. I know this reply isn't shooting related but I just felt like saying "thanks" for the post.

January 23, 2005, 03:15 PM	#14
keens Senior Member Join Date: September 23, 2004 Posts: 446	I knew the sounds coming from the woods near my stand had to be a couple of mountain lions killing each other...I have never been so scared hunting in all my life ...it was getting dark and I squeezed my gun for comfort...then all of a sudden I could see two racoons seemingly killing each other...what a relief...my hunting buddies laughed at me, but I had never heard coons act that way before...cool scenne though...one finally ran off...guess one of them was protecting something... __________________ Speak the truth in love, for truth without love is legalism, and love without truth is liberalism. If you count ease and comfort more than character, you will never be who God meant you to be.

January 23, 2005, 06:57 PM	#15
macavada Member Join Date: May 22, 2004 Location: South Texas Posts: 29	I saw a Jaguarundi once near Mathis, TX. Very rare.

January 23, 2005, 07:09 PM	#16
Rojoe67 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2005 Location: Wolverine State Posts: 767	speaking of coons....... here is another memory 3 years ago as I ended a bear hunt I walked back to my ATV. I had parked it about 300 yards from my bear blind. I had a red LED 3 light headlamp. I like to use it because it shows anyone around I'm human not animal and it lights up enough you can see what your doing. On the walk back to the quad I noticed a racket in a small 12-14 foot tall Poplar (Aspen) tree. I turned my head to put light up the tree. It was a family (8) of coons and those eyes were looking like lights on a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I must have darn near walked on them and they took for the tree for protection. I started laughing at this sight......about that time the main limb broke and 4 of them came down hard.... I just about broke in half with laughter.......a real Kodak moment..... It was the highlight of a very calm day hunting....

January 23, 2005, 10:05 PM	#17
calvin62 Member Join Date: January 3, 2005 Location: wisconsin Posts: 56	black panther ? During gun season 2001 in east central wisconsin I watched a black mountain lion sized cat jump a fence row 80 yds from me then sit down and eat the rabbit he was carrying. he was there about 15 minutes then snuck through the brush on the tree row and disapeared up the hill. DNR claims we have no mountain lions in the state much less a black panther. I didnt tell many people about it and the ones I did tell acted like I was nuts. so I dont repeat the story in public anymore but I do carry a camera now. Last edited by calvin62; January 24, 2005 at 10:29 AM.

January 24, 2005, 12:01 AM	#18
impact Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2005 Location: the great state of Texas Posts: 854	yes calvin62 you need to take a camera! many people here in texas say they see black panthers. But the Texas parks and wildlife people say there is no such thing in Texas! The Texas parks and wildlife challenged the people of Texas to produce a dead black cat or photo. That was five years ago. Still no pic or dead cat?

January 24, 2005, 04:46 PM	#19
Rojoe67 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2005 Location: Wolverine State Posts: 767	Thanks again for all the add-on stories (great stuff) This turned out to be a real interesting idea....... thanks everyone

January 24, 2005, 07:46 PM	#20
MeekAndMild Senior Member Join Date: August 2, 2001 Posts: 4,988	pwp thanks for the feedback. The outdoors is great. __________________ In a few years when the dust finally clears and people start counting their change there is a pretty good chance that President Obama may become known as The Great Absquatulator. You heard it first here on TFL.

January 25, 2005, 11:48 AM	#21
Ohio Annie Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 351	Black Panthers I read somewhere that animals near the edge of their normal range are more likely to have black ones in the population. Don't remember why. So if there are mountain lions in a place near the edge of their range there must be black ones there too if the article was applicable to panthers. __________________ Annie @8-) Maker of fine GSR since 1998

January 25, 2005, 11:53 AM	#22
Ohio Annie Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 351	Angry Hummer I bought a tree stand and climbing stick last year, mainly to try to get over my fear of heights. I was sitting in the stand and heard a dreadful buzz. Startled, I thought a bee swarm was coming. I looked to my left and a humming bird was hovering by my head about 18 inches away. He buzzed all around me, calling "pik pik . " He landed on a limb about a yard away from me and kept angrily calling "pik pik . "He looked like that grumpy bluebird picture. He flew away and I wished I had gotten out my camera. About 5 minutes later he was back and buzzed me again for a couple of minutes. I thought he went to the Bird Tavern and told his friends, "You'll never guess what I found sitting in a tree." His friends probably told him he'd had too much to drink and he just came back to check and see if it was really true. __________________ Annie @8-) Maker of fine GSR since 1998

January 25, 2005, 01:05 PM	#23
scbair Member Join Date: May 18, 2004 Posts: 72	Nothing too exciting; I have frequently observed grey fox stalking birds & squirrels, while I was perched in a deer stand. I also saw one pursuing a rabbit. Good reminders I wasn't the only hunter in the area.

January 25, 2005, 11:05 PM	#24
Arizona Fusilier Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2000 Posts: 1,082	Well he wasn't black, but it sure was a mountain lion I ran into about 10 years ago deer hunting down on the border. I was wearing all tan, against a backdrop of dried sage grass and desert, he probably couldn't tell what I was. I actually raised my binoculars to me eyes, trying to convince him I was a tool-user, and thus he should be afraid. He wasn't I pointed my rifle between his eyes; yes I know, this was all stupid, but I thought if I could just convince him I was Homo Sapiens, the classic "cowardly" lion would shy awy from human contact. He didn't. We had a stand off for about five minutes. When I started to whisper for my hunting buddy who was supposed to be right behind me (he wasn't ), he started to freak at the sound of the human voice. It was at that time, between the vegetation and the scant 30 feet between us, that I realized I could only get one shot off if I had to before he was on me. I exited stage left, he went stage right, and that was the last kitty I saw. Now every year, I get a lion tag (there over the counter in Arizona, about 11 bucks or so) "just in case". I also always carry a hunting legal revolver as a backup, in case I need quicker, close range shots. That's probably my best hunting story; I have more of them then I do filled game tags, though

January 27, 2005, 09:15 PM	#25
impact Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2005 Location: the great state of Texas Posts: 854	Ohio Annie. The Texas Parks and Wildlife did a DNA study of the mountain Lion and they said! that the mountain lion does not have the DNA to make a black lion. I think the DNA missing made a pigment called melanin which make animals black. There is a (I think) gray squirrel that is also black because of melanin. Most people just call them black squirrels